MIAMI – Downtown Miami’s skyline is starting to look a little bit different.
The new Interstate 395 “Signature Bridge” project, which costs $840 million and also involves the Dolphins Expressway and I-95, has been steadily rising.
On Wednesday, Local 10 News’ Christina Vazquez was given a tour of the project and spoke to Florida Department of Transportation Construction Resident Engineer Jacqueline Sequeira.
Footage of the tour can be seen in the video at the top of this page. Below you’ll find Sequeira’s comments on many topics regarding the project.
BRIDGE COMPLETION:
“The target for the completion right now is the end of 2027.”
STATUS UPDATE FROM LOCAL 10′S APRIL HARD HAT TOUR:
“Since we met with you on-site last year in April, we have completed one of the arches. We completed arch one, which is already closed, and we are about to complete the second arch. We are a few weeks away from closing that arch. On some of the other of the six arches, we are working on the foundations and on other arches we are erected the segments that will complete the arches.”
“AN ICONIC PROJECT”
“This is an iconic project that we are very proud of because at the end, it is going to change the skyline, the look of Miami, It is going to be the signature bridge for the city of Miami and on top of that, we are going to have community spaces underneath, which is the first time we build this type of project in Miami.”
CENTER PIER, WHERE ALL SIX ARCHES CONVERGE
“It took 16 pours, we had to pour concrete 16 times. On arch number five, we are right now building the arch, so we are installing segments on both ends, from the center pier and the outside arch. In total these six arches are made up of 345 of these segments, each weighing 90 tons.”
SUSPENSION BRIDGE AND NEW FLOATING DECK
“The conduits that you see coming out of the arch on the top, that is where the suspension cables are going to be installed. So the suspension cables come out of the arch through those tubes and that is what is going to hold the deck of the bridge. Once the deck is completed, which we are starting to build on that side, you can see the beginning of the deck there, so the deck is going to be hanging from the arches with those suspension cables. Once the bridge is finished, this deck is going to replace the existing 395 that you see here. Where traffic is going now, that is all going to be removed and traffic will be on the new bridge that will be suspended from the arches.”
SEGMENTAL BRIDGES UPDATE
“We are also making a lot of progress on the I-395 segmental bridges. This is coming up to the signature bridge, so in this area, since we met last year, we have demolished all the existing bridges we had in the center and right now the crews are working on the foundations, and in some areas we are already erecting the bridges so when the 395 segmental bridges will be completed, we have to instead 1800 segments and this is what is going to complete all the bridges from the beginning of the signature bridge all the way to 395.”
IMPROVE THE AREA: THE UNDERDECK
“The area is going to be improved tremendously because the new bridge is going to be at a higher elevation and this is going to allow more light to come in underneath the roadway. The bridge before had about 800 columns and now we are going to have less than 100 columns, and this is going to allow for more spaces underneath the roadway. So the state is coordinating with the city of Miami and we are working on the design for the community spaces under the bridge where we are going to have dog parks and a skate park and play areas and fountains and interactive water fountains for the community to enjoy the spaces underneath the bridge.”
SAFETY IMPROVEMENT: ADDING CAPACITY, MITIGATING AGAINST WEAVING
“The existing roadway is all going to be demolished and we are going to have brand new roadways, starting from I-95 all the way to the entrance of the tunnel, and we are going to widen the road, improve capacity, and we are going to improve safety by eliminating the weaving of the lanes. Drivers are not going to have to weave the traffic in and out, they will have designated lanes in the center and the ramps coming in and out of the road are going to be to the sides.”
ADDITIONAL LINKS